An electroluminescent (EL) lamp is commonly used as a means for backlighting different portable electronic devices. EL lamps are commonly used in mobile phones, PDAs, MP3 players, and the like to provide backlighting so the user can identify different operating components. EL lamps are basically capacitors that contain a phosphor so that a light is given off when a displacement current flows. Because of this, the light output of a particular lamp is to a first order directly dependent on the product of the operating voltage and frequency, and to a lesser extent on the waveshape being used to drive the lamp.
The EL lamps flexibility and thinness allows the EL lamp to be placed just underneath the keypad or operating components of the device. The EL lamp's light uniformity eliminates the need for a light diffuser. The uniform light provides the device with a more pleasing appearance. The construction of the lighted device can therefore be made very thin.
In some systems using electroluminescent lamps, it is desirable to have a circuit which will accept a low DC voltage and output a high AC voltage to operate the lamp. In addition, it is useful to have a circuit which allows one terminal of the lamp to be connected to circuit ground. This facilitates use of multiple lamps on a common substrate, as they may have a common backing electrode. This will further reduce the number of connections required by almost a factor of two.
Therefore, a need existed to provide a device and method that provides the above features.